Improv Night!

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Hey You! After much pondering and thinking and mulling it over...I have decided to say farewell to the cooking blog and when I cook up something spectacular or not so dazzling, I will just post it right here on my plain old dull and boring basic blog....One less click for you, I know, you can thank me later! Besides, I just don't get to cook as much as I would like, and usually it is the same old stuff dear hubby wants...tacos, meatball sandwiches, oven chicken...blah.

Also, my mom (she passed away four weeks ago) is no longer around to criticize my cooking, that makes me sad. I will miss her comments most of all, she was full of sarcastic comments and full of dry wit and humor. You just can't understand unless you have a mom like that how much you miss those lines when you no longer hear or see them. :-(
Yes, I can hear her now with my latest recipe.."I don't think you should be eating all that pasta, do you want to get fat??" Um, maybe?? I dunno know?? Hey, as long as the hubby is happy, I am happy! Thanks mom.....

But on to tonight's dinner and the theme of IMPROV!

Remove chicken and just eat the veggies and pasta, it is really good!!

I found a recipe for chicken fettuccine from America's Most Wanted Recipes, it was for a lighter version just a little garlic olive oil sauce not the heavy Alfredo sauce and I thought OK, let's give it a go!

But then I had, asparagus not mushrooms, I had roasted bell peppers not tomatoes...uh, white zin not white wine...hmmmm...what now? IMPROV...

I made this with chicken but then did not eat the chicken pieces, just wanted the veggies tonight,  so I decided when I write it up, I am omitting the chicken, this is a great light dinner of just angel hair pasta and veggies! I LOVED it!!

So since I really changed it up..this is MY recipe for DJ Jackie D's Pasta and Veggies! (don't ask, just follow along) It was very delicious!!

8 oz angel hair pasta ( OH, don't you think eating angel hair pasta makes you feel like you can eat more cause it is so tiny?? Yeah, Me too!)
olive oil and butter - about 5 tablespoons, each don't skimp here!!
3 cloves garlic minced
1/4 of an onion chopped small
1/4 cup white zin or any alcohol you have in your glass at the time! Wheeeeeee!
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 bunch asparagus chopped into one inch pieces
1 jar roasted bell peppers drained and chopped
3 tablespoons basil either fresh or jarred (sorry I don't use it enough to keep fresh on hand, I use the jarred stuff)
1/4 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese ( I always have a block on hand of fresh in the fridge!)

Cook your pasta and set aside, or cook it while you make the veggies and sauce....to make the veggies and sauce:
heat up the olive oil and butter in a cast iron skillet (you get better flavor from a good ole cast iron, mine came from my mom when I got married almost 24 years ago now!) sorry another memory comes back to me, it happens a lot now days....
add garlic and saute for a minute or two
add onion and asparagus and bell peppers, cook about 5 minutes
get the heat up to a full medium high and add wine and chicken broth, keep at a medium high until the broth reduces to half,  then add in the cream, basil and parmesan, salt and pepper, stir until well mixed and hot and thickened....
Plate your pasta and top with your veggies and sauce! Yum!
This was very good, I just love asparagus and pasta together it is a match made in heaven! Or is that the wine, cheese and heavy cream, hmmmm?? You decide!